Brazil’s Mayra Aguiar wins bronze in judo, makes history with 3 Olympic medals

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Judoka Mayra Aguiar made history on Thursday by winning her a medal in Tokyo in three consecutive editions of the Olympic Games.

Bronze in London-2012 and Rio-2016, the 29-year-old from Rio Grande do Sul repeated the feat in Japan in the up-to-78 kg category and became the first Brazilian athlete to win 3 medals in individual Olympic sports.

In the match that secured her place on the podium, Mayra Aguiar beat South Korea’s Hyunji Yoon with ippon, confirming why she is one of the strongest and most experienced judokas in Team Brazil.

“I’m very thrilled, I think it’s the most important achievement for me,” she summarized in tears after the match.

Mayra’s bronze medal bears the mark of resilience. Not surprisingly, she cried hard on the tatame. In the final stage of preparation for the Tokyo Olympics the judoka suffered a serious ligament injury to her left knee and had to undergo surgery, risking missing the Games but she was back in time to guarantee her presence.

Mayra recovered the pace lost due to the injury and succeeded in showing the talent that has led her to become a two-time world champion.

Mayra’s path to the podium in the Tokyo Olympic Games began with ippon against Israel’s Inbar Lanir. She debuted straight into the round of 16 because she was one of the seeded players.

However, in the next fight she lost to Germany’s Anna-Maria Wagner, ranked #3 in the world, in a very tight match that was decided in the golden score.

The playoff against Aleksandra Babintseva, from the Russian Olympic Committee, was also very balanced. However, her opponent received three shidos (punishments) for fleeing the fight and Mayra was declared the winner.

This was the second Brazilian judo bronze medal in the Tokyo Games. Earlier, Daniel Cargnin climbed the podium in the up-to-66 kg category.

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